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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Receives No Punishment For Hush Money Conviction; L.A. Fire Chief Says City Failed Her Department; Bill Maher On Comedy, Politics And Trump's Second Term. Aired 5:00-6p ET

Aired January 10, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[17:00:28]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING News.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start this hour with the breaking news involving the several destructive wildfires ripping across Los Angeles County, turning that beautiful area into a hellscape. At least 10 people are now dead. That number is tragically up from the five we knew about yesterday. The truth death toll right now is actually unknown until investigators can safely get into these impact communities, they can't do so now.

The scale of the damage is frankly insane. More than 36,000 acres have burned for scale. That's about the same size of the city of Miami. It's about two and a half times larger than the island of Manhattan. It's larger than both Boston and San Francisco.

Right now, the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest out of six active fires, are less than 10 percent officially contained. Now that's not because fire crews aren't working tirelessly to get every fire and any flare ups under control before Monday's expected windstorm, they are still the fires rage. CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Topanga near the Palisades fire.

Anderson, what are the current conditions like and how are fire crews handling any new flare ups?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Jake, I'm on Medley Lane in a community called Fernwood, which is part of in Topanga Canyon. There has been a battle raging here for the last hour and a half. We have seen more air assets deployed in this one spot in that last hour than I've seen in any other spot in the last several days. It's been extraordinary to witness. Right now you see this fire truck here, they're trying to save this community of Fernwood.

There's a number of structures here, a number of houses here, all of which have survived thus far. So they are now -- this fire truck is just pouring water, laying down this curtain of water, just trying to soak up, keep this whole area wet. We've had more than a dozen helicopters, fixed wing aircraft flying very low over us. There was a fire down in that direction, which I'm not sure if it was a structure fire or some vehicles on fire, I've heard conflicting reports from firefighters, but they just dumped a large amount of water down there. They're still watching that spot.

Even though they have devoted a lot of aerial assets to it, oftentimes the flames will come back. So they all ultimately, when it's safe, they send in ground crews to try to dig out any debris, anything that's left behind to make sure that fire doesn't come back. Yesterday we witnessed fires repeatedly coming back after dumping water from helicopters. But there is now another fire off there on the horizon. You can see on another ridge the large fixed wing aircraft have been dumping fire retardant on.

That's why you see that pink retardant all on that hill going up to the top of the ridge. Not clear the status of that fire yet. But this is an area which is very difficult for firefighters to work and the roads are very small, they're winding, it's difficult to get their vehicles in. They're up here, but they have to be concerned about if the wind changes direction and all of a sudden there's all of this kind of a valley area, there's a lot of debris, there's a lot of vegetation that could ignite. So they need to make sure that they can get out if they have to evacuate in the last minute.

But for now they are -- they have planted a flag here. They have just called in a lot of assets and they are working incredibly hard to save this community here of Fernwood. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Anderson, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Look for more from Anderson tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on "AC360." Then on Sunday, a special hour dedicated to the fires on "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper." That's Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Right now, hundreds of families are grieving everything they've lost in the fires. Whole neighborhoods have been wiped out. Entire homes spaces holding years of countless memories, irreplaceable mementos, photographs replaced with ash, hazardous debris and emotional scars that will last a lifetime. CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with an extended family who lost three homes in Altadena. And they're now all living together as they navigate this new refugee reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT LARA, LOST HOME IN L.A. FIRE: I feel helpless and I feel like I need the help. I don't know where to go.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Lara (ph) believed it was a blessing to have his entire family all in Altadena, California. The Eaton fire, it became a curse.

[17:05:02]

LARA: My uncle was on this street. His house is gone. My mom's house is gone. I'm gone. We have nowhere.

LAH (voice-over): Lara recorded as fire engulfed his street, his home and his uncle's home on the same street burned. His mother had already seen her home a few blocks away go.

LARA: I had my last little dinner here. There was no power. And I still said, I'm holding the fort, I'll be the last one to leave. My house is not burning and it's gone. It's gone.

This was all I really wanted to get to. And all I found was nothing.

LAH: What is that?

LARA: This was a passport. So now I don't even have a passport. This was a passport book and it's gone.

Yesterday I had it all. I had a roof, I had a lawn for my dogs. And now I'm in a little confined square, not knowing where I'm going to go next.

LAH (voice-over): Domatia Hinojosa (ph) is Lara's mother, a diabetic who cares for her disabled son.

DOMATIA HINOJOSA, HOME LOST IN L.A. FIRE: This morning when I wake up, I say, oh, I need to go back to my house. What happened with my home. I want to go back. I can't. But I can't go back.

I can't. I lost everything.

LARA: Mom, come inside.

LAH (voice-over): This is what aftermath looks like. Donated clothes and living in a relative's Airbnb.

LARA: This is chaos.

LAH (voice-over): Dealing with the maze of home insurance.

LARA: This is definitely going to take a lot longer than 12 months.

LAH (voice-over): And money.

LAH: A lot of people outside of California think it was celebrities who lost homes, rich people. Is that true?

LARA: This is your everyday hard working. I work in construction, gardening, housekeeping. Your everyday essential workers with nothing. We still have to cover our mortgage. I called my lender and I still have to continue paying.

LAH (voice-over): This family of faith is left grasping for meaning.

HINOJOSA: I hear the voice that God told me, I give it to you everything. And I lost in one second. You need to follow me, only follow me. I believe in God. And I think one day I want to have a house and I'm going to have everything.

LAH (voice-over): They only hope God is listening now.

LARA: Is somebody going to help us? Are we helpless? What do we do? Who do we call? I don't know.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LAH (on camera): So while were with that family, again, three houses lost. They heard from FEMA. All three of them have applied for help and they all got the same notification that their housing assistance had not been approved and their personal property assistance had not been approved. And they have heard what FEMA is saying about reapplying. But what they want to say to FEMA is, why don't you come out here, take a look.

This is one of the homes, one of the three homes that was lost. It was a beautiful property. It was built with their own hands because one of the sons is a general contractor. And so they have no clothes, they have no money and they are trying to work with insurance. And so trying to apply for, FEMA, Jake, amid all of this trauma is extremely frustrating.

So trying to deal with bureaucracy in general is frustrating to all of us. Now put this type of trauma on top of that. So that is what they are looking at, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much. So awful.

Joining us now, Griffin and Kit Goldsmith. They just lost their home in Altadena. They're expecting their first baby in just a few weeks. They're also the brother-in-law and sister-in-law of actress and singer Mandy Moore, whose troubles with this fire we've seen on social media in some ways.

And Kit, let me just start by saying so sorry. We're going to show our viewers a video of your neighborhood and it must be just so overwhelming knowing you can't take your newborn to your home. What I assume was a baby room that you had decorated in anticipation. On top of that, of course, knowing the air in the L.A. area could be potentially dangerous. What are you going to do next? What come next comes next as you prepare for the new baby in this new reality, how do you navigate this?

KIT GOLDSMITH, LOST HOME IN EATON FIRE: You know, that's a question we're still trying to figure out. We had an immense support group in Altadena. You know, they say it takes a village to raise a family. And Altadena was a vibrant village that we were really relying on in this next phase of our life. Without that, we don't have any answers.

[17:10:19]

We don't know. We are very fortunate to still have family and friends in L.A. Griffin and I are both from Los Angeles. We grew up in this city. We love this city so much. And seeing it just be destroyed from end to end and everyone who is losing everything is -- it's a nightmare.

And we feel for everyone who is going through this. And we know that, you know, we're going to bring into this world another sweet little boy and he will also be a part of this city and we will raise him when we rebuild.

TAPPER: And just to -- it's so horrible. And I'm sorry. Griff, you and your brother are members of the band Dawes. You were in the recording studio when you had to evacuate. It burned down and you lost all your instruments and equipment. I mean, it's homes, it's memories, it's livelihoods going up in smoke.

GRIFFIN GOLDSMITH, LOST HOME IN EATON FIRE: Yes. I mean, it's a test. And we know what really matters and it is exactly that. It's everything that we spend time -- you know, we spend our life building. And I just try to remind myself that the things that I really care for, you know, the things that I really need, my family, my animals, my -- you know, I still -- I'm still a musician, even if I'm devoid of all my instruments.

And everybody in Altadena and the musicians in Los Angeles and across the country that I've been fortunate enough to get to know are so incredibly supportive. I've already had friends reach out and say, give me an address to send instruments to or let me know if you need our studio. So it is awful and dire, but on the other hand, it's been incredibly inspiring to see the support. You know, everybody's just filling the space with love. It's overwhelming.

K. GOLDSMITH: Yes. Amidst all the loss is an abundance of love. It's incredible.

TAPPER: I know that the idea of planning for what next is just -- it's just too difficult and too impossible to even think about. But I do -- I just do wonder, do these wildfires give you any pause on the idea of rebuilding? On the idea of staying in Southern California or, no? You know, damn these fires. You're going to rebuild. You're going to stay in Los Angeles.

G. GOLDSMITH: Yes, I mean, it's hard. I'm trying to not plan all of that today because, you know, at this point, it's day to day. As you mentioned, we have a kid coming and so we're trying to -- we had to get out of Los Angeles because of the air quality and also just because of the stressors. We didn't want to induce an early labor, so we wanted to take the temp down.

TAPPER: Yes, of course.

G. GOLDSMITH: It's tough. It's hard to know how and what it would take for us to feel safe living in that neighborhood again. But on the other hand, it seems like a lot of people rebuild after, you know, getting in a situation like this because it's the only thing you can do given the, you know, context in which your insurance is helpful or not helpful. It seems like I would be surprised if we have any other options. I mean, you know, at the very least, rebuild and then sell it down the line.

Obviously, property values in Altadena have literally plummeted overnight. It's a tough question. I, that -- like she mentioned, that's our home. And I mean, we've said to each other so many times over the years in that house, like, we want to live here forever. We love this area.

TAPPER: Yes. G. GOLDSMITH: It's truly -- of all the places I lived in L.A., when we found that area, it felt like we've arrived. This is it. This is the perfect balance for us.

TAPPER: Yes.

G. GOLDSMITH: And so, yes, I think on the other hand, we do romanticize this idea of, like, what if we could get the -- what if we could get it back? What if we could build it back and be even stronger and the love would be -- the bonds would be even stronger. So it's hard to know. And I'm just hoping that as things start to become more clear in the coming weeks and months, we will -- so will our options and our decisions will follow accordingly.

K. GOLDSMITH: As well as the community. And I think that all of us across this country have been faced with natural disasters due to climate change, and we're going to be confronted with this, all of us, everywhere, time and time again. You know, this is a new reality we all have to live with as a country. And how are we going to band together, you know, to take care of each other through this and the next one.

TAPPER: Kit and Griff Goldsmith, thank you so much. Please stay in touch with us. Please send us baby pictures. Everybody wants some good news.

[17:15:01]

G. GOLDSMITH: Absolutely. Yes.

TAPPER: Everybody wants to see that little man when he comes. And send our love to Mandy and her family also. And -- but stay in touch with us. We want to have you back.

G. GOLDSMITH: We will. Thank you for having us.

K. GOLDSMITH: Thank you so much.

TAPPER: This big update is coming in. California Governor Gavin Newsom says he's calling for an investigation into the water problems that were present as firefighters were desperately trying to save property from the raging wildfires. This has been an ongoing complaint since the very beginning of the disaster.

CNN reporters are in some of the area's hardest hit. We're going to have more of their incredible reporting next.

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TAPPER: We're back with our breaking news and our national lead. We're four days into these deadly fires in Southern California. Right now, firefighters are bracing for the gusty winds to return the winds that make it so tough to fight these fires. The most destructive of the fires. The Palisades fire is still less than 10 percent contained.

[17:20:01] Take a look at these before and after satellite images exclusive to CNN. The entire Pacific Palisades community there in that image virtually decimated. And that's where we find CNN's Julia Vargas Jones.

Julia, what are you seeing there?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing a lot of residents trying to see if their houses are still standing at this point, Jake, four days out. They're trying to get to the scenes. And this is what they're meeting. This is, you know, the remnants of homes that they left, and some of them still have not been able to see. We've seen people walking the streets of the Pacific Palisades climbing up those hills on foot at times because cars cannot get through.

They need police or authorities, firefighters, someone needs to escort people in. You know, there is a growing concern with looters or people that might be taking advantage of this situation. So security around here is really tight. But we've heard from people and we've seen people pleading with authorities to come and see if their homes are still standing.

And, Jake, it's just been so much heartbreak, just devastation. And hearing these stories, watching, witnessing people for the first time realize that their homes have been completely burned down, their memories telling us -- you know, their kids grew up here. That is where this fire is now. This, as authorities, of course, are still fighting this fire, they're still waiting -- hoping to keep it, contain it. And yet, like you said, the hope for the next few days is that that will be really difficult with these winds.

But the lull has allowed for a little bit of a respite for now. So residents trickling in and coming to terms with the stark reality and the huge work ahead of what rebuilding might mean.

TAPPER: All right, Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

For the recovery effort, I want to bring in All Hands and Hearts CEO Jessica Thompson, whose volunteer organization is on the ground providing aid, relief.

Jessica, it's not the first time we've had you on. You're always there on the scene when there are Americans in desperate need. You arrived in Los Angeles yesterday. Tell us what you're seeing.

JESS THOMPSON, CEO, ALL HANDS AND HEARTS: I'm here right now, Jake, at a distribution center, a hub in Koreatown, which is outside the main affected areas. So it's serving as a centralized point where people can bring items and also volunteer to help to distribute those things. I can say we're seeing a huge turnout of local people really stepping up to the plate to try to serve their fellow Californian.

TAPPER: All Hands and Hearts, your organization regularly goes into areas impacted by disasters. The wildfires in Hawaii in 2023, for example. How can you help those affected?

THOMPSON: It's really difficult at this point, Jake. I would urge everybody who's already in the area, as you just alluded to, these are active fires. They are not yet contained. So for those who are in these areas, please listen to the advice that emergency managers are putting out for your safety. And for those outside these areas, do not travel in right now.

The best thing that you can do right now is to support those organizations that are active in the area with donations and then you can sign up to volunteer in the days and weeks as the people with big hearts who've come out today have to go back to their own obligations. So as we've seen with the 20,000 people that we have helped in Hawaii over the last 16 months, what you see right now is a need for housing and for essential items. Many people left their homes with nothing. But those donations are pouring in. The people that we've spoken to today, they're getting to capacity with those items.

So we really need to take a step back, make sure that everybody who's lost their home has a safe and secure place to stay. Because figuring out how and when they get back to those homes and get back into some sense of normalcy is going to take some time.

TAPPER: Jess Thompson, the CEO of All Hands and Hearts, thank you so much.

And if you have the means to financially help wildfire victims in Southern California, you can, please do. One way you can do that, go to CNN.com/impact which will give you a bunch of options and ways that you can give. You can also donate by texting the word WILDFIRES to the number 707070. That's the word, WILDFIRES to the number 707070.

Local reporters in Los Angeles asked the fire chief repeatedly today, did the city of Los Angeles fail in preparations for this disaster? Her answer? Yes. We're hoping to speak with that fire chief. And that's next. Stay with us.

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[17:28:50]

TAPPER: And we're back with our breaking news. We're getting a new look at damage from the Pacific Palisades fire. CNN reporter Leigh Waldman is there.

Leigh, give us a sense of what you've seen today.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, we've made our way now into one of the neighborhoods here in Pacific Palisades. We know people were forced to flee their homes and you can see exactly why for yourself. Homes left in rubble thanks to this fire that roared through here, leaving devastation in its wake. We can't tell what this home used to be. We can see the torch remains of a vehicle here, only making out the torch logo of BMW here, but even a puddle of aluminum from what used to be a wheel next to this vehicle. All throughout this neighborhood, we're seeing lines from utilities scatter along sidewalks, even scattering the roadways here. It's been a flurry of activity all throughout the day as fire crews and utility crews are coming through this neighborhood.

I believe we have another camera angle we can show you to show you just the widespread devastation throughout this neighborhood here. It's -- the Palisades fire at this point is 8 percent contained, which is a huge step in the right direction for the crews who are hard at work trying to get it to full containment.

[17:30:00]

But, Jake, at this point, we know that this Palisades fire and the devastation that it's causing for so many people here is going to be one of the costliest in U.S. history. We're hearing from people who call this neighborhood home. They saw the fire, houses down from where they were. They grabbed their backpacks, they grabbed their dogs, they grabbed their cats and they got out of here. And they're asking us now, what do we do? Can you take video? Can you show us what's left of our homes? Our hearts break with them, Jake. Back to you.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right. Leigh Waldman, thank you so much. We're going to have much more from California ahead. But I want to turn now to the Law and Justice Lead, a, quote, terrible experience. That's President-elect Trump's one star review of what it's like to become a convicted felon.

Today, Trump chose to show up via video for his sentencing in the New York hush money cover up case. The judge, Juan Merchan, did not impose any jail time or fines or probation on the soon to be president for his 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as found by a jury.

Still, Trump says he was treated, quote, very, very unfairly. This came just hours before his longtime friend and one time attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was back in court for his defamation of two former Georgia election workers.

Let's bring in CNN's Kara Scannell in New York and CNN's Katelyn Polantz here in studio to discuss the latest twists and turns in these legal dramas. And Kara, you were in court today for Trump's sentencing. What was that like?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Donald Trump did appear virtually in the courtroom. That was a choice that the judge allowed him to have. He also said that he wanted to speak. That was something that he didn't have to do. And in speaking, Trump repeated some of the same lines that we've heard before. He said that he was totally innocent, that this was a political witch hunt.

And he said that the American voters had watched this trial and they reelected him, which was the American voters' decision about this case. Now, the judge, when he handed down his sentence, he's sitting at the bench and he looked toward this screen that had Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, projected on it. He addressed the video screen telling Trump that there were certain legal protections that came with the Office of the Presidency, but that was with the office, not the occupant. As the judge was explaining why he was issuing the sentence of an unconditional discharge, no prison term, suggesting if Trump wasn't going to be re -- wasn't reelected that he might have imposed a prison sentence. But telling Trump that even the Office of the Presidency doesn't erase a jury's verdict, even though he would not serve any penalties for that. Jake?

TAPPER: Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani was in court in D.C. What -- what happened?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Jake, this was a hearing getting Rudy Giuliani to stop spreading lies about the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia. So there had been this court case against him, $150 million judgment from these two Georgia election workers he was defaming. They've been trying to hold him to account here.

And what happened was, well, after that trial ended a year ago, he went on his broadcast and four times kept claiming that they had stolen votes in the 2020 election. So today, he was -- before a judge who ordered him to review the whole record, all the facts that have been found about what happened in 2020, that there weren't votes switched against Donald Trump.

And he has to acknowledge to the court within 10 days that he understands that, that he sees that full record, and he has to do that under oath. If he doesn't with this court, he's going to be fined $200 a day. He could even be put in jail. And it was a day where the judge said to him it was outrageous and shameful what he was doing to these two women.

TAPPER: Let me just ask a question. What if -- what if he can't because there's something wrong with him?

POLANTZ: Well, that was an argument. It wasn't that something mentally was wrong with him that was argued in court. But it was argued in court that he has a lot of health issues and that also he believes that the election was still stolen, something he was doing for Donald Trump when he was Trump's lawyer. But the way that the judge set up this sanction, this contempt finding today was to essentially make it so that Giuliani could -- could not say he didn't see the facts. He has to look at what investigators found in Georgia, what people have testified to --

TAPPER: Yes.

POLANTZ: -- the whole record and acknowledge it under oath.

TAPPER: But he's allowed to believe whatever he wants. But you're not allowed to defame people based on those lies. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz and Kara Scannell. Appreciate it.

[17:34:30]

The Los Angeles fire chief is coming up next. We'll be right back.

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TAPPER: And we're back with breaking news in our National Lead. Today, when pressed, the Los Angeles City fire chief said that the city failed her and the Fire Department in the response to the deadly wildfires. It was in an interview with KTTV in Los Angeles. And Chief Kristin Crowley joins us now. So, Chief Crowley, a lot of questions going on in amongst the public about whether the decision to slash the Fire Department's budget and decisions around that have affected your department's ability to -- to fight the fires. Is it -- is it true? Did those decisions hurt your ability to do so?

CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, thank you so much for having me on. And I want to be very, very clear. Yes, we took a $17 million budget cut. And as we know, any budget cut would negatively impact our ability to carry out our mission. I want to also clarify that I'm not a politician. I'm a public servant. It's my job as the fire chief of Los Angeles City Fire Department to make sure that our firefighters have exactly what they need to do their jobs.

And that's why I'm talking to you today. The Palisades fire, everybody's seen it. It is absolutely one of the most horrific natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles. And even with an additional hundred engines, I tell you, we were not going to catch that fire. But with that being said, let me be clear. The $17 million budget cut and the elimination of our civilian positions like our mechanics did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus.

[17:40:07]

So with that, we have over 100 fire apparatus out of service. And having these apparatus in the proper amount of mechanics would have helped. And so it did absolutely negatively impact. I want to also be clear that I have over the last three years been -- been clear that the fire department needs help. We can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters.

With that I have also requested multiple budgets, interim budgets to show how understaffed, under resourced and underfunded the LAFD is. So with that also we have clear data that shows the LAFD needs more help. We need 62 more fire stations. These reports also show that we've had a 55 percent increase in overall call volume since 2010 and guess what, we're doing it with less firefighters.

I was also directed to develop a plan as part of a budget reduction exercise and that could equate to $48.8 million and I warned, I rang the bell that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating for our ability to provide public safety. That would have resulted to 15 fire stations closing down and potentially the elimination of over 300 firefighters.

Again I want to be clear that I submitted a -- a very large budget that will actually allow our firefighters to do their jobs. And I tell you, I cannot be prouder as a fire chief of one of the greatest departments in the world to be able to represent who they are and it's my job to make sure they get what they need to do their jobs.

TAPPER: Chief Crowley, before you go is there anything given that you have this audience now and you can talk to not only Mayor Bass but Governor Newsom and President Biden and incoming President Trump, what do you need right now? I mean the country wants you to have everything you need to stop these fires. What do you need?

CROWLEY: Right now we need to be fully, fully funded and supported so that our firefighters can do their jobs. Additional resources coming in will help us with this current disaster but moving forward that potential can happen anywhere in the entire city of Los Angeles and we need to be fully funded and supported.

TAPPER: L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, thank you so much and obviously we're all sending you and the firefighters our appreciation for what they are doing to stop these blazes. We'll be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:47:27]

BILL MAHER, WRITER AND PERFORMER, "BILL MAHER: IS ANYONE ELSE SEEING THIS?": I mean, the Electoral College? It's the only thing worse than regular college.

I mean, if Thomas Jefferson was alive, he would have two questions. One, Hamilton gets a musical before me. And two, we're still using that thing from 1787.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In our Pop Culture Lead, look, it's been a rough week. We wanted to get in a lighter note. Legendary comedian Bill Maher is debuting his 13th HBO stand-up comedy special. This one's called "Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?"

So let's bring in the man himself, Bill Maher, also the host of "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO. We should, of course, note CNN and HBO both owned by Warner Brothers Discovery. Bill, congratulations on the special. So early on, you say that Trump, quote, got the White House again, but he isn't going to get your mind. There are probably a lot of viewers that want to hear what you mean by that and how you want to achieve that.

MAHER: So I'm not going to chase every rabbit down the hole like I did the first term, you know. That's what I mean about he's not going to get my mind. He's -- he's a kooky guy who says a lot of kooky things. And I'm just not going to pre hate anything. I'm just going to hope for the best. And then when -- when something serious happens, I'll comment on that. Otherwise, I have new rules and monologue as a place in the show every week to talk about invading Greenland and annexing Canada and other stuff that's perfect -- perfect for comedy. But I'm not going to take it seriously.

TAPPER: So I'm writing an election book. And one of the things I just stumbled on was a monologue you gave in October 2023 in which you warned the Democratic Party of Ruth Bader Biden. You were saying the American people think he's too old. You're too -- you're worried about this. You had a great line about it doesn't matter if he's a national treasure and has done great things. If you got an air -- on an airplane and you heard that Buzz Aldrin was the pilot, you'd get off. I'm sorry for botching you're very funny joke. But they didn't listen to you. But you were proven correct.

MAHER: Yes. And -- and I felt I had standing to make that case because I had for so many years been the only person I know on television who was consistently railing against ageism. I have been saying for years ageism is the last allowable prejudice that we can have in this country. You can always do the age jokes. You can always rail on people for being too old. And it was, as I said, a case by case basis.

[17:50:16]

Some people at 70 are -- act like they're 100 years old and some people are like 40-year-olds. But this was a case, OK, where Biden was too old. Having made that case, that it's a case by case basis, I was now saying, yes, some of those cases are that the person just is too old for the job. And he was going to be much like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, someone who was seen in history as one who stayed at the fair too long and cost his party dearly. And he did. And, you know, I don't think history is going to treat Joe Biden kindly for doing that.

TAPPER: Donald Trump has spent a lot of time criticizing you. You told me a couple years ago on -- on air that you were -- you were afraid of what Trump could theoretically do if he ever were returned to the White House. How do you feel now?

MAHER: Yes, it's possible. Do I think he's going to start arresting comedians? I don't, but it's possible. Look, anything's possible with this guy. I'll put it this way. When George Bush was in the White House, it never even entered my mind, never entered my mind that I couldn't say whatever I wanted to say without repercussions. And that's one of the great things about living in America and we take America for granted and that kind of stuff. And maybe we can't anymore, so we'll see. But am I going to let it affect what I do? No. I mean, the day I feel like I can't say what I want without going to Guantanamo Bay, I'll just leave.

TAPPER: I do want to ask you before you go and congratulations again on the special, but there's talk promulgated by you about maybe you quitting the HBO show, about maybe not --

MAHER: No.

TAPPER: -- touring anymore. Well, you said something to Jane Fonda about -- about thinking about that. Where are you in your career? You still got a lot of good stand up, a lot of good jokes in you, right? Like what -- tell us what -- what's next?

MAHER: OK. OK. I am stopping doing stand up just because I'm tired of touring, just because I've been doing it for 40 years. I love it. Look, I love nothing more than being on stage somewhere telling jokes to strangers. It's been my entire life. It's been the most consistent thing in my life. But for those people who say to me, why don't you just do it a little bit? You can't do it a little bit. Stand up is like being a boxer. You have to be in training. You can't just walk up there and do it.

So I've been in training for 40 years. I need a break. And I'm tired of the travel. I'm tired of dragging my ass out of bed on Saturday morning to go to someplace after I worked so hard on "Real Time" all week. Maybe I'll go back to it. But, you know, I -- I have a podcast. I have a television show. I'm not retiring. And I'm -- I don't know where this started about I'm getting rid of "Real Time." I -- they're going to have to drag me off of that show.

What I was saying was that I didn't want to do another Trump term. Not just because I don't think it's going to be possibly a great time for America. Maybe again, not going to pre hate anything, but because I've already done all the jokes about Donald Trump. I don't know what else to say about the guy. But of course he will provide us with a lot of new material. And I'll get into it, but I was hoping that in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters, you know, but it's like they -- it's like they rebooted "Matlock," but instead of getting Kathy Bates, they put Andy Griffith back in it.

TAPPER: Well, that's good news for those of us who are fans of "Real Time with Bill Maher." Bill, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

MAHER: Thanks, Jake. Never miss you.

TAPPER: His new comedy special is called "Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?" It debuts this evening on HBO and will be available streaming on Max.

[17:54:11]

A major winter storm is moving through parts of the southeast. The havoc that caused in the tarmac of the airport in Atlanta, Georgia today, that's next.

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TAPPER: And back with our Last Leads, it's a sad breaking news update. We're learning that officials have just confirmed yet another death in the Los Angeles wildfires, bringing the total number to 11 as of now. That's according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Offices -- Office, which says six of the deaths are from the Eaton Fire, five from the Palisades Fire.

Also in our National Lead, a startling situation at Atlanta's International Airport this afternoon, more than 200 passengers on board a Delta Airlines flight had to evacuate onto a snowy tarmac using slides. Airline and airport officials say four people were injured. The takeoff was aborted due to a problem with an engine.

In our Law and Justice Lead, former Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey could be facing a lengthy prison sentence after prosecutors called for a 15-year term for his conviction on bribery and foreign agent charges. Menendez, the first U.S. senator convicted of abusing a committee leadership role and acting as a foreign agent, is set to be sentenced on January 29th.

Join us Sunday on State of the Union, I'll talk to Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, something of an exit interview. We'll get the latest on the fires from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and we'll talk to Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again noon only here on CNN.

[18:00:01]

Until then, you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram or Threads or X, and at least for the time being on the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show the whole two hours of it whence you get your podcasts.

The news continues right now on CNN with a man named Wolf Blitzer. He's right next door in a place I like to call The Situation Room. And I will see you Sunday morning.